INDONESIA MASTERS R32 – Polii/Rahayu find a way through in a tight battle

Indonesian women’s doubles, Greysia Polii / Apriyani Rahayu qualified for the second round of the Indonesia Masters 2020.  Meanwhile Korean men’s doubles pair, Kim Gi Jung / Lee Yong Dae once again stunned Chinese pair Li Jinhui / Liu Yuchen.

Story: Naomi Indartiningrum, Badzine Correspondent live in Jakarta
Photos: Jnanesh Salian / Badmintonphoto (live)

In their first-round match at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Greysia Polii / Apriyani Rahayu won against Liu Xuanxuan / Xia Yuting with a score of 22-24, 21-17, 21-15.  This victory became payback for the home pair after they suffered an upset at the hands of Liu/Xia in the French Open late in 2019.

Polii/Rahayu had a super-tight duel in the first game.  Both pairs chased each other in the score from the beginning.  Although playing consistently, the world #8 had difficulty facing Liu/Xia’s pressure on critical points.  The Indonesians lost the first game with 22-24.

However, Polii/Rahayu did not give up until very end and won the next two games 21-17 and 21-15.

Polii/Rahayu expressed their gratitude for the victory they got since it was not easy to achieve: “Alhamdulillah, Praise the Lord.  Earlier we were still looking for patterns in the first game.  Also, Polii is playing for the first time today so she is still looking for the court condition,” said Rahayu, who had already played mixed doubles on Tuesday and part of a match Wednesday morning.

“Today, we just wanted to show our best” Polii added.  “We also know our opponents strategy, weaknesses and strengths but as we getting older, I just want to enjoy each game here in my country.”

Lee/Kim remain strong

Korean men’s doubles pair, Kim Gi Jung / Lee Yong Dae once again defeated China’s Li Junhui / Liu Yuchen.  Though without the fanfare of a final like a few days ago, this win did allow them to reach the second round of the2020 Indonesia Masters.

Last week, Kim/Lee locked the Malaysia Masters 2020 title by toppling the Chinese pair.  This week, Kim/Lee continued the positive trend and took another victory in straight games over the world #3 pair, this time winning 21-19, 21-12 in 37 minutes.

In the first game, the two pairs clashed with each other tightly.  Their scores were rarely separated very far because these two men’s doubles duos both appeared aggressive on court.  Lee/Kim won the first game with a score of 21-19.

The Korean veterans appeared even more dominant in the second game until they were far ahead with a score of 9-3.  After interval, Li/Liu also seemed to be facing difficulty and Kim/Lee kept getting on the attack.  Without any significant difficulties, Kim/Lee ended the fourth-seeded pair’s resistance, taking it 21-12.

“Both last week and today, I feel our performance is not in a good condition,” Li Junhui said.

“We admit that our opponents are much better in terms of technique, serve and rhythm of the game.  Plus, our performance was not good this time.  That is why we lost again,” said Liu.

“Our opponents played very patiently and communicated well so it is very difficult to beat them,” Liu added.

With this victory the Koreans, now up to #29 in the world, will take on Denmark’s Kim Astrup / Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the next match.

Click here for complete Wednesday results